Nobel Prize in chemistry awarded to Kagan and Soai for research solving 'mirror image' mystery

Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in Stockholm Wednesday for resolving the mystery of mirror-image chemical molecules. Kagan developed methods to favor one molecular form in the 1980s, and Soai later created the first reaction to produce only one mirror image. Their work transformed molecular chirality research and became a foundation for modern drug development.

Kagan is 95 years old, was born in France and is affiliated with Universite Paris-Sud in Orsay.

Soai was born in Japan in 1950 and is affiliated with the Tokyo University of Science.

Soai’s first-ever reaction producing only one molecular mirror image is known as the Soai reaction.

The prize money this year is 12 million Swedish kronor, or $1.2 million, for an individual, small group of laureates or organization.

Published Oct 7, 2026 9:28 pm KST

The chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry Heiner Linke explains the field of research of Nobel Prize winners France's Henri Kagan and Japan's Kenso Soai during a press conference to announce the winners of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Wednesday (local time). AFP-Yonhap

STOCKHOLM — Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for their efforts to resolve mysterious mirror images in chemical molecules, a discovery that transformed modern medicine.

Many molecules of life come in versions that look alike but aren’t exactly identical, like right and left hands. One mirror image of the chemical carvone smells like mint, for example, while the other has a whiff of caraway.

When designing drugs to treat diseases, scientists want to be choosy about which mirror image they’re getting. They want the version of a molecule that’ll treat a cold, not the kind that’ll make the sniffles worse.

Kagan and Soai found ways to make chemistry pick a side, designing and manipulating reactions to produce the desired mirror image.

“This is probably the coolest experiment in organic chemistry,” said Peter Somfai, a member of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry. “Taken together, the groundbreaking discoveries by Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai have reshaped our understanding of molecular chirality — how it is created, amplified and transmitted.”

Scientists paid tribute to Kagan and Soai's groundbreaking work, which the Nobel committee described as a feat never previously achieved by anyone “other than life itself.”

“It might be difficult to say that this drug, or that drug, was developed using this,” Somfai said. “I would say all of them, because we use this as a tool, we use this as an understanding, how to develop catalysts, how they function.”

“Chirality” comes from the Greek word for “hand.”

In the 1980s, Kagan’s work showed there might be a way to design reactions to produce one form of a molecule over the other. Years later, Soai brought that dream to life. He created the first-ever chemical reaction to produce only one of a molecule’s mirror images, in what’s now known as the “Soai reaction.”

“The medicines we have today would not be possible without this chemistry,” said Rigoberto Hernandez, president of the American Chemical Society.

Kagan, 95 years old and born in France, is affiliated with the Universite Paris-Sud in Orsay, France, and Soai, born in 1950 in Japan, with the Tokyo University of Science.

The French Academy of Sciences, of which Kagan is a member, congratulated the two scientists and expressed its pride in the prize.

Neither the Universite Paris-Sud nor the Tokyo University of Science responded immediately to AP requests for comment.

“I’m very excited to receive the very nice news,” Soai told the committee and journalists by phone. “Of course this is one of the most exciting days in my life.”

He said he was shopping near his home when he was reached by the Nobel committee.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the winner in Stockholm.

Last year, three scientists won the chemistry Nobel for their development of new molecular structures that can trap vast quantities of gas inside, laying the groundwork to potentially suck greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere or harvest moisture from desert environments.

This year's prizes began with the Nobel for medicine , awarded Monday to three scientists whose work led to a tool that uses light to help unravel how the brain works. The physics award Tuesday recognized a scientist's efforts to demystify a rare group of neutrinos .

The literature prize is set to be awarded Thursday. After Friday’s peace prize is awarded, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences will be announced Monday.

The prize money this year is 12 million Swedish kronor ($1.2 million), whether for an individual, a small group of laureates or an organization.

亨利·B·卡根和曾井健三因破解镜像化学分子之谜，于周三在斯德哥尔摩荣获诺贝尔化学奖。卡根在20世纪80年代开发出能够优先生成一种分子构象的方法，而曾井健三后来实现了第一个仅生成一种镜像分子的反应。他们的工作彻底改变了分子手性研究，并成为现代药物研发的基石。

卡根今年 95 岁，出生于法国，隶属于奥赛的巴黎南大学。

Soai 于 1950 年出生于日本，隶属于东京理科大学。

Soai 首次只产生一个分子镜像的反应被称为 Soai 反应。

今年的奖金为 1200 万瑞典克朗，约合 120 万美元，可授予个人、小型获奖团体或组织。

发布于2026年10月7日晚上9:28（韩国标准时间）

诺贝尔化学奖委员会主席海纳·林克（Heiner Linke）在周三（当地时间）于斯德哥尔摩瑞典皇家科学院举行的新闻发布会上，介绍了2026年诺贝尔化学奖得主——法国的亨利·加根（Henri Kagan）和日本的曾合贤三（Kenso Soai）的研究领域。此次新闻发布会旨在宣布获奖者名单。法新社-韩联社

斯德哥尔摩——亨利·B·卡根和曾井健三因在解决化学分子中神秘镜像现象方面所做的努力而荣获周三的诺贝尔化学奖，这一发现改变了现代医学。

许多生命分子都有外观相似但不完全相同的版本，就像人的左右手一样。例如，化学物质香芹酮的一种镜像异构体闻起来像薄荷，而另一种则带有淡淡的葛缕子香味。

在设计治疗疾病的药物时，科学家们希望谨慎选择所得到的镜像分子。他们想要的是能够治疗感冒的分子版本，而不是会加重感冒症状的分子版本。

卡根和索艾找到了让化学选择立场的方法，他们设计和操纵反应来产生所需的镜像。

“这可能是有机化学领域最酷的实验，”诺贝尔化学奖委员会成员彼得·索姆费说。“亨利·卡根和曾井健三的开创性发现共同重塑了我们对分子手性的理解——它是如何产生、放大和传递的。”

科学家们对卡根和索艾的开创性工作表示敬意，诺贝尔委员会称这是“除了生命本身之外，任何人都从未实现过的壮举”。

“很难说这种药或那种药是利用这种方法研发出来的，”索姆法伊说。“但我认为所有药物都是利用这种方法研发出来的，因为我们把这种方法当作一种工具，一种理解催化剂研发方法及其作用机制的方法。”

“手性”一词源于希腊语，意为“手”。

20世纪80年代，卡根的研究表明，或许可以通过设计反应来选择性地生成分子的一种形式。多年后，索艾将这一梦想变为现实。他创造了第一个只生成分子镜像之一的化学反应，这就是现在被称为“索艾反应”的反应。

“如果没有这种化学技术，我们今天拥有的药物就不可能存在，”美国化学学会主席里戈韦托·埃尔南德斯说。

95岁的Kagan出生于法国，隶属于法国奥赛的巴黎南大学；1950年出生于日本的Soai隶属于东京理科大学。

卡根所在的法国科学院向两位科学家表示祝贺，并对该奖项表示自豪。

巴黎南大学和东京理科大学均未立即回应美联社的置评请求。

“听到这个好消息，我非常激动，”索艾在电话中告诉委员会和记者。“这当然是我人生中最激动人心的日子之一。”

他说，当时他正在家附近购物，诺贝尔委员会联系了他。

瑞典皇家科学院在斯德哥尔摩宣布了获奖者。

去年，三位科学家因开发出能够捕获大量气体的新型分子结构而获得诺贝尔化学奖，为从大气中吸收温室气体或从沙漠环境中获取水分奠定了基础。

今年的诺贝尔奖颁奖典礼以周一颁发的医学奖拉开帷幕，该奖项授予了三位科学家，他们的研究成果催生了一种利用光来揭示大脑运作机制的工具。周二颁发的物理学奖则表彰了一位科学家为揭开一类罕见中微子的神秘面纱所做的努力。

诺贝尔文学奖将于周四颁发。周五颁发和平奖后，诺贝尔经济学奖将于周一公布。

今年的奖金为 1200 万瑞典克朗（120 万美元），无论是颁发给个人、一小群获奖者还是一个组织。